With twenty approaching by the day, I'm slowing walking my way into adulthood. Between attending school in a far away state and spending the summer in another state from my parents, I've had to figure out how to accomplish day-to-day tasks on my own. There are certain realizations I never considered before I was "living on my own." While I would love to cook myself an elaborate meal each night, I've realized from cooking to eating to cleaning, that process turns into several hours and I'm happy with my simple chicken instead. There are a bunch of lessons I've already learned about "adulting," and while I'm still working on living by these rules full time I can definitely recognize them as the truth. For now, I'm just working on getting by and checking all the marks of a functional, clean, and efficient adult life.
1. Eat a damn meal.
One of the quickest lessons, I learned in the past year is how bad snacking can be for you. Eating three full, balanced meals each day not only boost your energy by 100%, but it's definitely a much more "adult" feeling to make time for scrambled eggs than to choke down a power bar while you're on the move. P.S. You don't need to eat fancy things!! Just take time to fill yourself up when necessary and make time to enjoy the quick break from your hectic schedule.
2. Urgent Care is worth it.
Being sick is the worst!! Get yourself the medicine!! Doctors are far away, hard to see, and potentially expensive. Urgent care will help you knock out the quick and easy things for a smaller wallet hit and let you know if there is a more serious issue than Delsym or Dayquil can handle.
3. Dedicate certain chores to certain days.
Having a clean, neat space to live is so much more relaxing than I ever realize until my room is a mess. I've realized that if I break up cleaning into a task each day, I'm more likely to regularly keep everything clean (and not just tidy, yes I vacuum and dust, Mom!!). No need to make simple tasks overwhelming by letting them pile up, so keep that same mind set in your chores!!
4. Always have something to read.
Whether it's Pride and Prejudice or Mindy Kaling's autobiography, a good book will be company, entertainment, and intellectual stimulation all in one. That's literally it. Everything you need.
5. Have a reminder to be grounded.
For me, I keep my grandfather's cross in my room as a reminder to say a quick prayer every day. As a Catholic, this simple act helps me feel more connected to my priorities and refocuses me on the goals immediately ahead of me. I get that it might not be a religious moment for everyone, but it's necessary to remind yourself of what's important to you everyday. A five minute meditation, a daily to-do list, or a quick prayer all are easy ways to help you develop your mind and energy into adulthood.
6. Keep track of your finances.
Budgeting is hard. Life is expensive. Money makes the world go round. A key aspect of "pretend adulthood" is that it's setting you up to step out on your own, which you'll never be able to do if you can't manage a couple of bills or pay rent each month. Online banking makes it INCREDIBLY easy to be informed of how much money is going into and out of your accounts so figure out how much you want or should have in savings, work towards that goal, and budget to have a little fun if you can!!
7. Take one "adventure" each day.
Adventure is a loose term here, but don't lock yourself up in the house. Even if it's heading to the bank or the post office, make sure you aren't cooped up with Netflix all day everyday. After you've completed all the tasks you've aligned for yourself for the day, take an extra voyage to get some fresh air or just some new human interaction.
8. Evaluate if your decisions are YOUR decisions.
While we all have family, friends, and general others who we don't want to disappoint. This middle age between childhood and adulthood is about deciding who you will be as a person. The choices you make now have the power to influence the rest of your life (hellooooo, college major!), so ensure that the path you start is one you want to be on. Otherwise, it's time to hike up the boots and head in the direction you're being called in. Figure out your gut instinct and go from there.
